


A Burden Shared

by morwen_of_gondor



Series: Inspired By Empire Reimagined [3]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badly Needed Conversations, Dealing with problems like adults, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Friendship, Gap Filler, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26252509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morwen_of_gondor/pseuds/morwen_of_gondor
Summary: After his conversation with young Lieutenant Piett, Anakin thinks about Palpatine and comes to some conclusions. Obi-Wan is there to help.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Inspired By Empire Reimagined [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898620
Comments: 7
Kudos: 65





	A Burden Shared

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wishfulthinking1979](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishfulthinking1979/gifts).
  * Inspired by [When the Mighty Don't Fall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26247226) by [Wishfulthinking1979](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishfulthinking1979/pseuds/Wishfulthinking1979). 



> This is set in the universe of Wishfulthinking1979's fic _When the Mighty Don't Fall,_ and takes place pretty much immediately after the prologue. It will make a lot more sense if you go and read that first!

_What could Palpatine have to gain from me turning to the dark side to save Padmé?_ That was the question that kept rattling around in Anakin’s mind as he tried to meditate following his conversation with the young Axxilan lieutenant. He had the feeling that the answer was right at his fingertips, but he finally gave up on thinking about it and went to go tinker with his fighter instead in an attempt to calm his whirling thoughts. Who knew, maybe that would knock the answer loose.

As things turned out, it did. With a yelp of "Fives!" Anakin sat up suddenly, and abruptly followed his first yelp with an emphatic "Ow!" as he scrambled out from under the fighter. Too concerned with what he had just remembered to bother more either about his head or the fighter, he set off at a run for Obi-Wan’s quarters, his former doubts about telling his master of his visions completely overridden by his sudden urgency.

Obi-Wan wondered what had happened during his apprentice’s brief conversation with Lieutenant Piett to give Anakin so much food for thought. Anakin had been oddly quiet and distracted ever since they had returned to the Negotiator, finally running off to the hangar to make some further adjustments to his already state-of-the-art fighter. 

Despite the signs of unrest, Obi-Wan was not at all prepared for Anakin to come skidding into his quarters covered in engine grease, spanner forgotten in his mechanical hand, and exclaim, "Master, the chips! Fives was right! We have to do something!"

"Slow down, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, doing his best to be soothing and also to think of what could have startled his apprentice so badly. "And start from the beginning. What chips, what was Fives right about, and what do we have to do?"

"The control chips. He told Rex and me about them in the warehouse, before…before." 

Anakin paused. Fives’ death was still a sore subject for much of the 501st, Obi-Wan knew. His apprentice gathered steam again, however, and kept going, "He said they were part of a plot to kill the Jedi, and that the Chancellor was in on it. I didn’t believe him." He winced but went on, "But now the Chancellor’s been encouraging me to use the dark side to save Padmé, and I can’t think of why he’d be doing that if he’s not somehow tied up with the Sith."

Obi-Wan took a moment to process all of this. Neither Anakin nor Rex had ever willingly talked about what happened in the warehouse where Fives had died, but Anakin had taken to glaring daggers at any of the Coruscant Guard who were unfortunate enough to come anywhere near him, and looked downright murderous if he happened to encounter Commander Fox. Rex, on the other hand, had refused to land on Coruscant at all since Fives’ death, muttering something about paperwork whenever anyone suggested he do so. If Fives had accused one of Anakin’s dearest friends of treason before his death, however that had come about, he could well see why neither of them had brought it up. Then…"Senator Amidala? Why would you need to save her?"

"Umm…" _In for a deci, in for a cred,_ Anakin thought. "We’re married and she’s expecting?"

"Oh." Obi-Wan, for once, found himself at a loss for words. He couldn’t say that it was entirely a surprise; Anakin and Padmé had never been subtle about their…interest…in each other, but he hadn’t realised it had gone quite that far. He set aside his regret that Anakin had not seen fit to tell him sooner — Anakin had told him now, and that was what mattered — and returned to the matter at hand. "But why would you need to save her using the Dark Side?"

"I’ve been having visions, just like I did with Mom, except they're of Padmé dying in childbirth. Last time that happened, I was too late. I couldn’t stand to be too late again. He told me…that there were Sith techniques that could save her. I was honestly thinking about it." Anakin folded in on himself, looking very small and young. "I can’t lose her, Obi-Wan. I can’t."

Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair. "Well, first, I suppose congratulations are in order, though I wish you had told me sooner."

Anakin jerked up suddenly and stared at him in incredulity. Obi-Wan kept going before he could say anything else. "And second, have you thought of bringing her to a doctor? Or even to the Temple healers? Regardless of your relationship, they would not turn away anyone truly in need."

"I thought you would be angry," Anakin said slowly, as though waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Obi-Wan suddenly felt very tired. "Anakin, did you really think I didn’t know that you and Padmé had feelings for each other? The two of you are hardly subtle. And I was in love once myself. I know what it looks like."

"But…the Code?"

"Love is not attachment, Anakin." Obi-Wan took a breath and gathered himself. Anakin needed to know that he understood, but that did not make what he was about to say easier. The memory of Satine Kryze was still a painful one. "I did not marry Satine because I knew that I could do more good in the Jedi Order than I could at her side, but I still love her. I think I always will. Not being attached does not even mean not fighting for what you love. I fought for Qui-Gon. I fight for you and Ahsoka." 

Anakin was gaping at him now, and Obi-Wan resisted the temptation to deflect from the matter at hand by teasing him for looking like a Mon Cala. "Attachment means the desire to _possess_ the person you love, to control them, to be unable to let go of them even when you know it is for the best for both of you. I love you dearly, Anakin. You are like a brother to me. But I would not Fall for you, or for Qui-Gon. If you were to Fall for Padmé’s sake, that would be attachment, and that attachment would, in the end, destroy the good man she loves. Jedi are not alone in the temptation to possess what they care for. It is only that when we give in to it, we are able to bring ruin in our wake in a way that non-sensitives cannot."

"Funny that you say that," Anakin said in a strange voice. "Lieutenant Piett said pretty much the same thing, except for the stuff about the Force. He…he lost his sister, when she was seventeen. He’s from the Outer Rim, and justice out there is pretty much nonexistent unless you take it into your own hands, but he didn’t go after the spicers that did it himself. He said that she wouldn’t have wanted that for him."

"He sounds like a wise man," Obi-Wan agreed. "I am thankful you have brought this to me, Anakin. We will find a way to keep Padmé safe. There are doctors on Naboo or Alderaan. If the Chancellor is indeed the Sith Lord, as you have said, she should be as far away from him as possible."

Anakin looked immensely relieved. Obi-Wan clapped him on the shoulder. "Come. We should make the arrangements. You can tell me about these chips on the way."

"Right." Anakin stepped forward with purpose, his face and Force-signature clearer than Obi-Wan had seen them in a long time. "Let’s go."


End file.
